Kick His Ass?
by Aaerial15
Summary: Willow learns that Xander gave Buffy a different message than instructed the night Buffy killed Angel. A confrontation is inevitable. ONE SHOT!


**Kick his Ass?**

**A Buffy the Vampire Slayer fan fic**

_Author's note: I do not own the characters in this story, just the situations involved. All characters are the property of Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy. That being said, enjoy!_

There was silence throughout the Summers household. Willow Rosenberg was the only one there, as Xander and Buffy had left with opposing intentions. It was recently learned that Anya had become a Vengeance Demon again when Xander stood her up at the altar. It was ok for a short while, but Anya slowly granted steadily worsening wishes, and last week's worm episode should have set off an alarm bell that something was not right.

No less than ten minutes ago, it was discovered that the recent sorority slaughter was the result of Anya's most recent wish-granting. When confronted with this unfortunate truth, Buffy's mind was made up. She could no longer stand on the sidelines. It was okay before, except for the worm incident no one had been seriously harmed. But now it was different. Death was involved. And not just one, but many. The creature Anya had conjured was on a rampage. Buffy herself wore several cuts from an encounter with it.

Hard as it was, she had to do her duty as The Slayer. It was clear to her Anya would have to be stopped, by any means necessary. On the flip side of the argument was Xander. Anya was his ex girlfriend, and would have been his wife, if one of Anya's former victims had not brought forth certain doubts Xander himself had been supressing. He did not take Buffy's decision to kill Anya well. "When one of our friends goes psycho and starts killing people, we help them," he had said, giving Willow a knowing look.

"Willow was different," Buffy countered. Looking Xander right in the eye, she continued, "She's a human. Anya chose to become a demon, twice!" Xander was undettered. "If you knew what she was going through," he began, but Buffy cut him off before he could finish. "I don't care what she's going through!" she yelled angrily. In Xander's mind, the pieces began to fall into place. "Oh, I see. If there's a mass murdering vampire that you're, oh, I don't know, boning, then it's all gray area," he replied angrily.

"Spike was harmless," Buffy retorted. "He was helping!" Xander cut her off before she could go further. "He had no choice!" Buffy's temper rose. "And Anya did!" she yelled back. "Do you think we haven't seen this before?" Xander asked. "The part where you just cut us all out? Step away from everything human and act like you're the law?" Before he could say anything further Buffy interjected, "I killed Angel." For a brief moment, her anger was replaced by sadness.

"Do you remember that?" she asked, her voice bordering on breaking. "I would have given up everything to be with him." There was a brief pause as fresh tears fell down her face. "I loved him more than I loved anything else in this world, and I put a sword through his heart because I _had_ to." Willow hesitantly said, "That all worked out okay." She then wished she had remained silent. "Do you remember cheering me on?" she asked. She then looked at Willow. "Both of you?"

As she brought her attention back to Xander, she didn't see the half-confused, half-shocked look on Willow's face. "Do you remember giving me Willow's message? Kick his ass?" Willow couldn't believe what she just heard. "I never said that!" she defended, but her protest was ignored. "There has to be another way," Xander said sadly. Buffy was fighting the urge to break down. "Then please find it," she replied. Xander left the house without another word. It was clear he intended to warn Anya that Buffy was coming.

She took a deep breath in his wake, then headed for the door herself, stopping only to retrieve a broadsword from her weapon's chest. She turned to face Willow, her eyes asking a silent question. "I can't," Willow said. "I'm sorry." Buffy said nothing, and left the house herself.

There was only one thing Willow could think of. One way to stop Buffy and Xander without killing anybody. She summoned D'Hoffryn, and asked him to intervene. She could only hope that she was sucessful. A few moments after he had departed, she got her answer. Buffy and Xander returned to the house. "Anya's alive," Buffy said softly. Willow was glad to hear the news. "She didn't come back with you guys?" Willow questioned. Xander shook his head. "She went to her apartment," he answered.

Buffy's body ached all over, both from her encounter with whatever creature it was that Anya had summoned, and the fight with Anya herself. "I'm going to take a hot bath," she said as she went upstairs, leaving Willow and Xander in the living room. Xander started to leave the room, but was stopped in his tracks by Willow. "Not so fast, Alexander Lavelle Harris," she said in a soft, yet forceful tone. Xander knew he was in trouble, and slowly turned to face his oldest friend.

"Look, Will, before you start-" Willow cut him off in mid-sentence. "Kick his ass? You told Buffy I said kick his ass? That's not what I told you to tell her that night and you know it!" Xander fumbled for words. He had a long standing grudge against vampires ever since Jesse died. Willow did not wait for him to attempt to explain. "I know you were angry that Buffy chose Angel over you," she began. "That's not it," Xander replied.

Willow pressed forward. "Then what was it?" she demanded, her voice rising. Xander could tell that he was on extremely dangerous ground at the moment. It was clear Willow was struggling to keep from going Dark. "Please tell me Xander, if that wasn't it, what possible motivation could you have had to not tell her that I was doing the spell to get his soul back?" Xander exhaled sharply. "I wanted him punished!" he replied, barely keeping his voice down. He knew he could be in worse trouble with Buffy.

Willow's look softened a bit. She too, remembered everything Angelus had put not just Buffy, but all of them through. "I wanted to know that he was in Hell, where he belonged," Xander continued. His voice almost broke as he spoke. "If I had known," he began, guilt finally surfacing in his voice. He was allowing feelings that had been buried for years to surface. She could see in her eyes there was more to it. "What else is there?" she asked. He was astonished. It was like she could read his mind.

"There was another reason," she said. "One that had to go past hatred for Angel." He said nothing for a moment. "I thought if she knew you were trying to save him, she might not fight as hard. I didn't want to give him an advantage that could kill her." Willow nodded. It was reasonable enough. Willow remembered Buffy's feelings for Angel at the time. If she had known, there was no way she would have given it her all. She would have fought with the gloves on, so to speak. Angelus would have shown no such restraint.

"Xander, I want you to know, I forgive you," she said as the two embraced in a hug. As they pulled away, she looked him in the eye. "But I think you should tell Buffy the truth," she said, very seriously. No sooner than she said it, Buffy came downstairs. "Tell me the truth about what?" she questioned. Xander thought for a moment, before turning to face Buffy. "I have to tell you something," he began, "About the night you killed Angel. You'd better sit down." As Buffy took a seat, Willow gave the two some privacy. As she went upstairs, all she heard was "Willow didn't say kick his ass."

**The End**


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